1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to eyewear and more particularly to means for owner identification of all types of eyeglasses including sunglasses and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There exists a serious problem of retrieving eyewear that has been inadvertently lost by the owner. This is due to the fact that eyewear such as eyeglasses and sunglasses are constructed with design configurations that normally do not lend themselves to be marked with any suitable owner identification. Since there are many types of eyewear in use today the term "eyeglasses" will be hereinafter referred to represent all types of eyewear.
Until now, identification of eyeglasses has been restricted to the markings or indicia printed or embossed on the various eyeglass cases that might be employed to protect and store the respective glasses. That is, usually the name and address of the optometrist is imprinted on the case or within an area inside the case. The owner will often mark the case with some type of identification, either on the inside or preferably on the outer surface of the case. Often owners will try to provide a home address or at least his or her phone number by using some type of ink that will hopefully not wear off. However, many eyeglass cases have an outer surface that are generally not conducive for marking by pen and ink devices. Some owners will paste identifying labels to their eyeglass case. This method has two problems, one being that the label sometimes will not stick for very long to the surface of the case and also if is does the printing eventually wears off.
It is important to note that the most common time that eyeglasses are lost is when they are not safely placed back into their protective case. Thus, eyeglass cases with or without one's glasses are rarely lost. As is often the case, the wearer of glasses will remove his or her eyeglasses for several reasons such as resting one's eyes to alleviate discomfort or to see better in a different optical range. It is at this time that they are often put down and forgotten.
Eyeglasses are extremely expensive because they generally consist of prescription lenses which are usually of little or no use to anyone finding them.
Accordingly, there is a need for a more permanent marking or labeling arrangement of a pair of eyeglasses so that the glasses could be more easily reclaimed, thus sparing the wearer the expense and inconvenience of replacing the lost eyeglasses.